Sanandaj Governor Claims Connection of Saro Ghahramani to 'Terrorist Groups'

The governor of Sanandaj claims that Saro Ghahramani, whose body was handed over to his family a few days ago, was 'affiliated with terrorist groups' and was killed in an armed confrontation. However, a relative of Saro Ghahramani has denied this claim, asking, 'If Saro was killed in an armed confrontation, why are there no bullet marks on his body? Why are they not allowing forensic experts to determine the cause of death?' Saro Ghahramani, 24, had been missing for two weeks during the protests in January and security forces handed over his body to his family on Saturday. The death of this Sanandaj citizen has sparked widespread reactions on social media, with reports of 'torture' and his killing by the Ministry of Intelligence of Hassan Rouhani's government. Now, Mohammad Ibrahim Zarei, the governor of Sanandaj, has reacted to these reports and reactions, telling the IRNA news agency that 'the news of this individual's death during the unrest is not true, as no one was harmed during the recent unrest in Sanandaj with the good cooperation of the people.' The governor also mentioned Ghahramani's previous five-year conviction for collaborating with 'terrorist groups' and stated that he was released after two years under Islamic clemency. He claimed on Sunday, January 24, that Saro Ghahramani 'threatened a citizen with a weapon in one of the parking lots of Sanandaj on the fourth of January and fled the scene a few minutes later... This individual, when pursued by agents along with one of his associates, fled the scene without heeding the agents' stop command and then shot at the agents, resulting in his death during the confrontation.' Similar statements were published by the Mehr news agency quoting 'Saro Ghahramani's father,' claiming that Saro was connected with the Komala group. Meanwhile, Ehsan Soltani, a relative of Ghahramani, described the governor's statement as 'distorted' and 'unbelievable' in his Telegram channel. He stated that contrary to the governor's claims that Saro had been pursued since the fourth of January, 'this Sanandaj citizen had been coming home until the thirteenth of January and had been sleeping at home at night; his relatives and close ones saw him several times until the thirteenth.' Soltani questioned, 'How could a person being pursued by law enforcement come home so easily, and why did security agencies never inform the family about his being pursued? Why did they not take action to arrest him until the thirteenth of January when he was at home?' He added, 'If Saro was killed in an armed confrontation, why are there no bullet marks on his body? Why are they not allowing forensic experts to determine the cause of death?' Soltani also criticized the lack of mention of the exact time of the shooting and Saro Ghahramani's death, stating, 'If he was killed in a confrontation with law enforcement on the same day he was last seen at home on the thirteenth of January, why did they inform the family of his death after 11 days?' Iranian officials in recent days have referred to those who were killed in the Islamic Republic's prisons after the January protests as 'addicts' and 'affiliated with terrorist groups,' claiming they either 'committed suicide' in prison or were killed in armed confrontations. Before the reports about Saro Ghahramani were published, the deaths of at least two detainees from the recent protests in Iran had been reported or confirmed. One of the prominent figures who commented on Saro Ghahramani in recent days is Bahareh Rahnama, a cinema actress. She tweeted that Saro 'worked at our restaurant for a few months and was a delivery driver; he was very calm and modest and often worried about his mother; sometimes he talked to me about his mother. Today I saw and heard that he was killed in the recent confrontations and his body was recently handed over to his family; I deeply sympathize with his mother and family!' In another tweet, she reported that 'the Sanandaj governor's office contacted me and said Mr. Ghahramani was killed for collaborating with a terrorist group; your information is wrong, the youth are being provoked, and there may be confrontations that could harm other youths; I asked them to officially announce the documents for clarifying public opinion.' Hours after this tweet, she wrote that the Sanandaj governor's office contacted her again and asked her not to give 'false information' to the public, stating, 'They said the documents regarding the cause of Mr. Ghahramani's death are available on the IRNA website!' It seems that this refers to the governor's interview with the Islamic Republic's news agency, IRNA. In the widespread protests in Iran, which featured harsh slogans against the leaders and domestic and regional policies of the Islamic Republic, more than 3,700 people were arrested, and the judiciary spokesperson confirmed on Sunday that at least 25 people were killed.